A. Summary and Overview.
- Zephaniah is one of the 12 minor prophets at the end of the Old Testament. The author is the prophet Zephaniah as identified in 1:1. The word of the Lord came to Zephaniah during the reign of Josiah, king of Judah, most likely before Josiah’s reforms in 621 BC which places it about 635 to 625 BC. The name Zephaniah means “God has concealed” or “God has hidden”.
- Under the two kings of Judah that preceded Josiah, Amon and Manasseh, the cults of pagan deities, especially that of Baal and Astarte, had taken root in Jerusalem. Baal was worshiped by the Canaanites as the chief of gods, and was deemed lord over weather, fertility and crops. His devotees would place infants as a child sacrifice into the arms of a bronze statue of Baal that was heated to a glowing red. Astarte was another Canaanite goddess worshiped for sexual love, war, royal power and beauty. The people of Jerusalem worshipped them and other Canaanite gods in violation of the first of the Ten Commandments.
- Zephaniah thunders against the evil of Judah and expands his message of God’s wrath to the surrounding nations, and even unto the whole world. But he ends with Messianic prophecies of the restoration of Judah and the nations to God. Chapters and key verses are summarized below.
B. Chapter 1.
- Zephaniah begins with a declaration of the destruction of all mankind and animals, and then brings it down to Judah and Jerusalem: “I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD. ‘I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, and the rubble with the wicked. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests’” (Vs. 1:3-4).
- The chapter concludes with a warning that the “Day of the Lord is near” (Vs. 1:14a). The Day of the Lord was a frequent phrase used by the prophets to describe God’s wrath and His justice upon evil doers. He continues with: “I will bring distress on mankind, so that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the LORD. In the fire of His jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end He will make of all the inhabitants of the earth” (Vs. 1:17-18).
C. Chapter 2. Zephaniah gives some hope of escaping God’s wrath to those who are humble and seek righteousness: “Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD” (VS. 2:3). He then goes on to give the Lord’s pronouncement of judgement upon the nations that surround Judah including the Philistines, Moab, Cush, and Assyria.
D. Chapter 3.
- Zephaniah begins the chapter by relating God’s future outpouring of His wrath upon the nations: “Therefore wait for me,” declares the LORD, ‘for the day when I rise up to seize the prey. For my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them my indignation, all my burning anger; for in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed’” (Vs. 3:8).
- The book concludes with a future vision of the restoration of Israel under the Messiah: “Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil” (Vs.3:14-15).
E. Discussion, Application and Passing it on. Zephaniah was a contemporary of Jerimiah and other prophets who warned Judah of God’s coming judgement upon them for their sin, idolatry and injustice. God did exercise His wrath against Judah. The message of Zephaniah is as relevant today as it was in his time. God will one day pour out His wrath and judgement upon an evil world but, He has revealed hope for the future. Are you concerned enough about your unsaved friends to warn them of what is coming?